Director Deepa Mehta, in short
By Jesús Ibarra July 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
| “I do not think of myself as controversial or feminist. I only shoot stories that attract me,” said Indian-born director Deepa Mehta during the master class she offered last Sunday, July 21, at Teatro Ángela Peralta during the 11th edition of Festival Expresión en Corto. |  |
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Mehta is considered by many to be the voice of a new India for depicting the abuses suffered by vulnerable members of Indian society, especially women, in her films.
Moving pictures
Mehta was born in Amritsar, Punjab, North India, in 1950 and said that she grew up with films, since her father distributed and showed them. “I started watching movies at the age of six and never stopped.”
However, the filmmaker said that her childhood among films initially led her to choose a different career. She was sick of movies and wary of their unpredictable dependence on box-office returns. She chose instead to become an academic and graduated from the University of Delhi with a degree in philosophy.
Later, ironically, she found herself in a film studio that made documentary films for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. “The first film I was asked to do was a documentary about a 13-year-old girl who was going to marry. I made three documentaries while I was in India,” said Mehta.
Mehta emigrated to Toronto, Canada, when she met Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman, whom she married in 1973. “It did not strike me that I was leaving home, since I felt I was going to Canada only for a visit. Although I had traveled extensively, it was my first time in Canada, and because I arrived in January my first impression was that it was very cold. It was not a cultural shock, though. Canada is a country of different cultures and races. It is a very cosmopolitan place and I did not feel strange being an Indian in a foreign country.”
Her early films
Mehta won an award in Cannes in 1991 for her feature film Sam and Me. “I felt surprised then, but I always feel surprised. I am in fact surprised to be here,” she said. She also directed some episodes for the series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, invited by the American producer and writer George Lucas. “I remember being in London at the London Film Festival. I had just come back from the screening of Sam and Me. The phone rang and I picked it up. A man’s voice at the other end of the phone said, ‘Hi Deepa, this is George Lucas speaking,’ and I said ‘Oh yes,’ and I hung up the phone.”
He called back and said ‘I’m serious, it’s me.’” He wanted me to do some episodes of The Young Indiana Jones, which was a good experience that opened doors for me. Deepa’s next film was Camilla, with Jessica Tandy and Bridget Fonda. “Jessica Tandy was 85 years old and she taught me a lot. With Jessica I began to learn the language that I need to use to talk to actors. She made me understood that you cannot just tell them what you want them to do. You have to give them an explanation of why you want them to do a certain thing.”
The elements trilogy
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Camilla did badly at the box office, and Deepa found herself without a job or even an agent to represent her. “I even met one who said ‘you just do not have any style, there is not a definitive style in your filmmaking, we cannot represent you.’” I had always wanted to write the scripts for the films I made, so that I could control what I really wanted to say. |
The idea I came up with was Fire, which for me is a film about choices, or about the lack of choices women have.”
Mehta wrote the script for Fire, and she and her producer, David Hamilton, raised some money and made the film. Fire is about a two women who, ignored by their respective husbands, choose to look to one another for comfort and to satisfy their own passions, a subject that was controversial among conservatives in India. Eventually, the film was banned there. “Every time I make a film it is an exploration of an issue I am very curious about, and I was very curious about what happens when you break rules or when you cross that boundary line that society has marked out for you.”
It was during the shooting of Fire, in 1996, that the lead actress, Shabama Azmi, asked Mehta what her next film would be. “I told her that it would be about the conflicts between Pakistan and India. She asked me what would it be called, and it just come out: I said ‘Earth,’ and that is how it started.” Earth was shot in 1998 and was banned in Pakistan for political reasons.
The third and last film of the trilogy, Water, was originally to be shot in India in 2000, but a group of Hindu fundamentalists rioted, burned the sets and threatened to kill Mehta and her actors. It was shot at last in Sri-Lanka in 2005 with a different cast.
For Mehta, “natural elements are something that nourish us; without them we would not exist. All the topics of the films come out of politics—politics of choice, politics of religion, politics of war—and they are like the elements: they can nourish us, but they can destroy us.” Mehta said she will not make a film titled “Air,” the fourth element, because such a title “sounds so empty.”
Earth, based on the novel Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa, tells the story of the partition of India in 1947 and the conflicts between Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs from the vantage point of a young Parsee girl. Water depicts the life of widows in India, secluded in a house for widows, through the eyes of an eight-year-old widowed girl.
“In Earth the heroine of the book itself was the girl because it is an autobiography. In the case of Water, I thought it was important that it was seen through a child’s eyes or vision because children are innocent, and they are not afraid and they go where others fear to tread.”
Among other issues, Mehta talks about violence in her films, specifically in Earth, but she only depicts the violent situations in a tangential way and leaves the details to the spectators’ imagination. “I am not interested in depicting violence in detail, just enough to get the narrative of the story moving. We see so much violence in films because it sells. And it is our own responsibility, because they are selling it to us, so if we say no to it, we will stop it,” she commented.
Expresión en Corto in Guanajuato
| You really need the program book, the schedule brochure and meticulous notes to see the best of the festival, but if you just want the highlights, here are the last three days arranged by the hour. |  |
No other festival in the world offers Midnight Madness in the city tunnels or Movies with Mummy in the graveyard, so try those for sure.
Friday, July 25
10am Marcel Delgado y los dinosaurios en el cine (90 min.), Conference, Teatro Cervantes
Vacaciones perdidas (84 min.), Teatro Principal 12:00 PM
Noon Spike Jonze - Conferencia Magistral (120 min.), Auditorio del Estado
Conferencias (Conferences) | 36 adds | 102 views
1pm Conozca la cabeza de Juan Pérez (87 min.), Teatro Principal
2pm María Novaro frente a Mira Nair (60 min.), Book presentation, Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera
3pm 25th Hour (135 min.), Spike Lee, Teatro Principal
5pm The Expedition (150 min.), India, Auditorio Euquerio Guerrero
6pm Victorio (88 min.), MMCinemas
8pm Doble Juego (90 min.), Auditorio Euquerio Guerrero
9pm Shyam Benegal Tribute (60 min.), Auditorio del Estado
10pm Ankur/ The Seedling (120 min.), Auditorio del Estado
Midnight Madness
11pm Shabnam Mousi (150 min.)
11:55pm Happy Hookers (54 min.)
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Movies with Mummy John Carpenter at midnight in Panteón Municipal (Museo de las Momias) Evil Dead 2 (85 min.) Last House on the Left (84 min.) |
Saturday, July 26
10am Fábrica de sueños (120 min.), Kids in Action, Teatro Cervantes
Humberto Velez - Conferencia Magistral (120 min.), Auditorio de Prensa
Noon Solo entre cuatro muros (85 min.), Teatro Principal
4pm Aurora Boreal (78 min.), Teatro Principal
5pm The Stranger (119 min.), India, Auditorio Euquerio Guerrero
6pm Joaquín Cordero (120 min.), Conference, Auditorio de Prensa
Malcolm X (193 min.), Spike Lee, Teatro Principal
7pm Taxi to the Darkside (106 min.), Oscar’s Night Showcase, MMCinemas
9pm El Cafre Tribute (93 min.), Escalinatas de la Universidad
Joaquín Cordero Tribute (60 min.), Auditorio del Estado
Sunday, July 27
8pm Machuca (120 min.), Teatro Principal
Cinemateca, July 28–August 3, 2008
José Luis Pick’n’tip
Tibetan Book of the Dead
This film conveys the beauty of the landscape and the integrity of the old culture of Ladakh. As years go by, this film will be viewed as a treasure. I think the film does something that reading about the Tibetan Book of the Dead cannot do—it gives us a cultural context. This is a very good documentary. Beautifully done and a profound explanation of the TBD. The narration isn’t intrusive, the scenery is awesome and the characters are real and soulful. Must see!
The Tip Important: In order to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. I also want to remind you of our new ticket price: 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out. Would you like to receive this info by email? Write to Jose Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com. Thank you.
The Movies
Tibetan Book of the Dead (2003)
Monday, July 28 at 3pm
Narrated by Leonard Cohen
Religion & mythology documentary, English, 90 minutes
You’ll feel instantly at peace with this chronicle of one of the most unique books of Buddhist spirituality, narrated by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Sit back and explore the rites prescribed by the text and see how they’re applied by people around the world. Two parts—“A Way of Life” and “The Great Liberation”—are included.
Winner of Best Documentary in the Boston Film Festival
Lost and Found in Mexico
Monday, July 28 at 5pm
Documentary, English, 53 minutes.
Writer/director/producer: Caren Cross
Lost and Found in Mexico explores the question: What lies on the other side of the American dream? This quirky documentary explores the lives of Americans who chose to leave their hard-working, successful and fast-paced lives to live in San Miguel de Allende, where leisurely conversations take place in the main square, burros walk the streets and people find their hearts engaged in living once again. While many Mexicans are leaving families behind and risking their lives to cross the border to a better life, this film focuses on the Americans who have decided to cross in the other direction—for a simpler life. Questions and Answers with the filmmaker following the show. All proceeds benefit the Mexican kids’ scholarships.
Salt of the Earth (1954)
Wednesday, July 30 at 1pm
Social issue drama, B&W, English, 90 minutes
Director: Herbert Biberman
Cast: Will Geer, Charles Coleman
Director Herbert Biberman’s prescient drama incited a furor upon its release with the political overtones in its story about the Mexican-Americans who went on strike to protest unsafe conditions and unfair treatment at New Mexico’s Empire Zinc Mine. Presaging the civil rights and feminist movements, the 1954 film—the only one blacklisted in American history—paints a thought-provoking picture of the struggle by the miners and their families.
Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Thursday, July 31 at 3pm
Political drama, English with Spanish subtitles, 97 minutes
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Blunt, Mayte Garcia.
Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) sets a series of earthshaking events in motion when he conspires with a rogue CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in an Oscar-nominated role) to aid Afghan mujahedeen rebels in their fight against the Soviet Red Army. Julia Roberts, Emily Blunt and Amy Adams co-star in this fact-based political thriller directed by Mike Nichols and based on George Crile's 2003 book by the same name.
Kids Movies: Cartoons
Saturday, August 2 at noon